The present invention relates generally to a hosiery display hanger assembly and, more particularly, to such an assembly for supporting a plurality of sock pairs from a conventional sock retailing display fixture.
One preferred means of displaying pairs of socks in retail establishments is to suspend the socks from a display fixture using a hanger device which leaves all or a substantial portion of the sock exposed. This method permits the potential purchaser to touch and examine the sock as well as offering the potential purchaser an immediate visual basis of comparison between the various sock pairs on display so that the purchaser may readily determine the appropriate color, fabric and construction of the sock pair desired to be purchased.
A number of hanger devices have been proposed for displaying socks in this fashion. Perhaps the most popular hanger device in current use is a single plastic hook having a hole at the lower end of the hook for receiving a plastic fastener inserted through the folded pair of hosiery to be suspended.
Other devices for suspending socks from a rack or the like are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,181 to Pitanis and U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,417 to Kunreuther. The Pitanis patent discloses a dual purpose sock holder which includes a retaining member and a hanger member formed as an integral unit from plastic material. The retainer member includes a pair of transverse openings for retaining hose draped through the openings. The Kunreuther patent discloses a hosiery tag which includes first and second side portions joined by an intermediate portion, the first and second side portions being adapted to be aligned in spaced, substantially parallel relation to one another for receiving a folded pair of hosiery inserted therebetween. A plastic fastener is inserted through aligned holes in the side portions adjacent their free ends and a hook part is secured to the intermediate portion for suspending the hosiery tag and folded sock pair combination from a retail display rack.
Another type of device for displaying socks in a retail establishment is a device including a clear plastic bag in which plural pairs of socks are contained and a one-piece plastic display hanger having a hook portion and a thin elongated body extending laterally therefrom for supporting an upper margin of the clear plastic bag.
However, these known devices for supporting and displaying sock pairs in a retail establishment each suffer from disadvantages such as undue complexity in design and manufacture, inadequate protection against the inadvertent or intentional removal of sock pairs supported thereon, such as removal by shoplifting, little or no capacity for simultaneously supporting and displaying a plurality of sock pairs and an undesirable tendency to support the sock pairs in an unbalanced manner.